The New York Islanders can eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice in Game 6 of their 2021 First Round matchup thanks to an error by Tristan Jarry in double overtime that Josh Bailey capitalized on– scoring the game-winning goal 51 seconds into the fifth frame– to win Game 5 on the road, 3-2, at PPG Paints Arena on Monday night.
On the same day that the Islanders scored in overtime to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4, in overtime for their first of four-straight Stanley Cup titles in 1980, New York put themselves one step closer to punching their ticket to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ilya Sorokin (3-0, 1.66 goals-against average, .951 save percentage in three games played) made 48 saves on 50 shots against in the win for New York.
He also became the first goaltender in Isles franchise history to win each of his first three career playoff games.
Jarry (2-3, 2.85 goals-against average, .901 save percentage in five games played) stopped 25 out of 28 shots faced in the loss for Pittsburgh.
Neither Barry Trotz, nor Mike Sullivan made any adjustments to their Islanders and Penguins lineups, respectively, for Game 5.
At puck drop, Kris Letang took sole possession of the third-most career postseason games in Pittsburgh’s franchise history as he skated in his 141st career Stanley Cup Playoffs game, surpassing Jaromir Jagr (140 career playoff games with the Penguins) in the process.
Almost midway into the opening frame, Bailey caught Kasperi Kapanen with a slash and presented the Pens with the night’s first power play at 7:47 of the first period.
It didn’t take Pittsburgh long to capitalize on the skater advantage as Evgeni Malkin (1) sent a shot over Sorokin’s blocker side to make it, 1-0, for the Penguins while Scott Mayfield inadvertently screened his own goaltender.
Letang (3) and Bryan Rust (1) tallied the assists on Malkin’s power-play goal at 8:20 of the opening frame.
With the goal, Malkin tied Denis Potvin for most all time playoff power-play goals in league history and tied Mario Lemieux for the second-most postseason points in a Penguins uniform.
Lemieux amassed 76-96–172 totals in 107 career postseason games, while Malkin had 64-108–172 totals in 169 playoff games at the time of the goal.
Late in the period, Bailey sent Anthony Beauvillier into the zone with speed, whereby Beauvillier (2) managed to deke around Jake Guentzel and elevated a shot over Jarry’s blocker to tie the game, 1-1, with a short breakaway goal.
Bailey (1) and Nick Leddy (2) notched the assists on Beauvillier’s goal at 19:05 of the first period.
Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Penguins were leading in shots on goal, 12-10.
New York held the advantage in blocked shots (4-0), giveaways (2-1), hits (19-17) and faceoff win percentage (60-40), while both teams had two takeaways aside through 20 minutes of action.
Pittsburgh was 1/1 on the power play, while the Isles had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.
Malkin hooked Leddy at 4:39 of the second period to kickoff the middle period on Monday– giving the Islanders their first power play of the night in the process.
New York did not convert on the skater advantage, however.
Moments later, Sidney Crosby dropped a pass back to Rust (2) for a one-timer blast from the point over Sorokin’s blocker side to make it, 2-1, Pittsburgh at 7:37 of the second period.
Crosby (1) and Letang (4) had the assists on Rust’s goal.
Less than a few minutes later, Andy Greene caught Guentzel with a high stick and the Isles defender cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 10:14.
The Penguins failed to capitalize on the resulting power play, though.
Pittsburgh led New York, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 32-14, in shots on goal, including a, 20-4, advantage in the second period alone through 40 minutes of action at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.
The Isles led in blocked shots (7-3), takeaways (5-4) and hits (28-27), while the Pens led in giveaways (3-2) and faceoff win% (52-48) entering the second intermission.
The Islanders were 0/1 and the Penguins were 1/2 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.
Jordan Eberle (2) tied the game, 2-2, at 8:50 of the third period after Jean-Gabriel Pageau worked hard on the forecheck to free the puck from Penguins defender, Brian Dumoulin, as Leo Komarov pounced on the loose puck and worked it to Eberle in the slot.
Eberle slid the puck underneath Jarry as the Pittsburgh netminder dove across the crease.
Komarov (1) and Pageau (4), meanwhile, picked up the helpers on Eberle’s goal.
Moments later, Oliver Wahlstrom was checked by Mike Matheson as Matheson held his stick high and caused a whiplash-esque effect while Wahlstrom’s head snapped back and forth due to the nature of the collision.
Though Wahlstrom never made head contact with the boards, he needed assistance getting off the ice. Meanwhile, there was no penalty on the play and the game continued shortly thereafter.
Late in the final frame of regulation, Frederick Gaudreau tripped Brock Nelson and presented the Islanders with a power play at 14:03, but New York couldn’t convert in the dying minutes of the third.
After 60 minutes of play, the Penguins and Islanders were deadlocked, 2-2, on the scoreboard, despite Pittsburgh holding an advantage in shots on goal, 41-20, including a, 9-6, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone.
The Pens also held the lead in hits (40-39) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Isles led in blocked shots (9-6) and takeaways (7-6). Both teams had six giveaways each heading into overtime.
The Islanders finished 0/2 and the Penguins went 1/2 on the power play as there were no penalties called in the extra frames.
There were no goals and no calls made in the first overtime, which resulted in the score still knotted, 2-2, while the Penguins led in shots on goal, 49-27, including an, 8-7, advantage in the first overtime alone.
New York led in blocked shots (13-9), and hits (47-46), while Pittsburgh held the advantage in faceoff win% (51-49) heading into the second overtime.
Both teams had eight takeaways and 11 giveaways entering double overtime.
Less than a minute into the fifth period of the night, Jarry turned the puck over with a tape-to-tape pass to the other team as Bailey (3) corralled the rubber biscuit, skated further into the zone and chipped a shot past Jarry’s glove to give the Islanders a, 3-2, victory 51 seconds into double overtime.
Bailey’s effort was unassisted and gave New York a 3-2 series lead heading home for Game 6 on Wednesday, but first the Penguins finished Monday night leading in shots on goal, 50-28, despite losing Game 5 in double overtime.
Both teams had one shot on net in the second overtime alone, while the Isles wrapped up Monday’s effort leading in blocked shots (13-9) and hits (47-46).
The Pens finished the night leading in giveaways (12-11) and faceoff win% (53-48).
The Islanders lead the series 3-2 heading home for Game 6 at Nassau Live at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.
Puck drop is expected around 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night and fans in the United States can catch national coverage on NBCSN, while those in Canada can feel inclined to choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.
Down the Frozen River 
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